This is the story of my life, and it is filled with mad, wonderful people, and the love, laughter, and occasional frustration that they bring me.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Snapshot: A Reintroduction

One of the things I have noticed about blogging is that it's a lot like a correspondence. And when you're in a correspondence, if you let things taper off, after a while it becomes more awkward to pick them back up than it is to let the conversation die. I've been trying to think of ways to write a post that would ease me back into blogging and to sort of reintroduce myself. It's been a while, there are some changes, and it's nice to have a reference point to look back to. So here's a snapshot (or two or three or so) of my life right now. Please forgive the blurry self-portrait below, I had to take it by myself and that's the least goofy looking one of the bunch. But there I am, waving hello (sans glasses, but just picture some specs on there and we'll be pretty much totally accurate).

Who I am:

A 25 year old woman who lives with her long-term boyfriend and some housemates

A neurotic, recovering Type-A personality

A knitter

A spinner

A storyteller

A sister

A daughter

A friend

A musician

How I live:

In beautiful (if perpetually gray) Montgomery County, PA

With three housemates (one boyfriend, one boyfriend's sister, and one male friend)

For the convenience of a very large, fluffy, unpredictable cat

In interesting times

What I do:

Laugh

Make other people laugh

Fix things

Teach

Organize

Run herd

Spin (I spun and knitted the delightful item you see over there to the left)

Knit

Feed people (and myself)

Train people (all the fun of teaching, with none of the stickiness that children have)

Cast of characters in my story:

The family--two sisters, a mom, and a dad. We're all mad, but in a fun way

The boyfriend--six years together. We've got issues, but we're sorting them out

The housemates, Coll and Mike (see above)

The Jersey Girls (pictured at left, with honorary Jersey Girl [please don't tell him I called him that])--two friends I've known for 20 years. It doesn't get much better than that

The nerdy best friend--we're not sure if we'll take over the world, or have a dramatic caps lock vocab battle to determine who can possess it

The Drama Llamas--the various friends who vent their drama in my general direction

Locations:

The house--beautiful, old, feels like home after four years

The office--I've found myself working in the comic strip Dilbert

New Jersey--the southern part, where I grew up

Relevant information:

I came to blogging because I love stories. To me, the Internet's greatest power is its ability to let people from utterly different backgrounds tell their stories. It's why I read, and why I put these words out into the world

I hate having my picture taken, because I am very vain. I've fought acne for years, and when I'm always photographed with people who have gorgeous skin (like my two sisters) I become intensely self-conscious. Thanks to Proactiv (they're not paying me to say this) my skin looks like a grown up's should, and I'm trying to reconcile myself to having my picture taken. I want to be able to look back at photos and remember things fondly

Jim (the boyfriend) and I drive Jeeps. I have a fear that we're already becoming that old couple that owns the same mint green velour track suit, so it's important that we note that I bought mine first. There are also some days where we wear the same shirts (we work for the same company and our employer likes to give out shirts). I'm always dressed first.

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About Me

This is the story of me! I'm a young woman living in Pennsylvania and surrounded by wonderful, crazy, odd, colorful people who I love dearly. I love to laugh and to knit and especially to read. Music is my lifeblood, whether I'm listening to it or playing it. I'm a walking anti-stereotype. I'm a smart blonde, a fraternity woman who isn't a promiscuous lush, a young knitter, and a woman who knows more about engines than lots of men. I'm friendly and neurotic and real, stop by and leave me a comment if you have the urge to chat.

The List! 101 Things in 1001 Days

The Schooling:1. Go back to school at least part time in fall of 2009. changed to fall of 2010, due to alien spine baby insanity.2. bring all my student loans current and pay my accounts down as much as possible

The House:3. Clean the library, determining what is trash and what should stay X4. Organize the books in the library so that they are displayed and accessible and so that you can actually sit somewhere in the room to read.5. Paint the library and find a suitable rug and chair/small sofa for the room.6. Paint the living room and front room7. Paint the office8. Determine which plants in the yard should be pulled, pruned, or saved and do so X9. Plant something that flowers and is pretty in the yard X10. Find or buy attractive, comfortable furniture for the yard and the porch X11. Rescue the tree growing next to the house, plant it somewhere safe X12. Clean/organize the basement so that things can be stored and accessed easily.13. Re-finish the kitchen table and chairs gave them to kate instead.14. Re-finish all the woodwork the crazy woman painted white15. Find/buy chairs/sofa/seating for front room16. Create and maintain a fair chore rotation17. Buy new mattress, box spring, and bed frame.

The Me, Practically:18. Create a budget, possibly with Jim's input, to be followed strictly and reviewed and updated every three months19. For six months, cook at least on real, balanced meal per week (24/24) X20. Find a job that is compatible with my goals and skills and has a normal scheduleX21. Write a will22. Designate power of attorney23. Write a living will24. Make peace with myself, my life, my failures, and my successes.25. Have an educated, well-argued opinion on current events/issues26. Find/rent/buy software and improve my Spanish to conversational level27. Find/rent/buy software and learn a little French28. Read the Sunday Inquirer every week for a year (0/52)29. Spend at least half an hour twice a week exercising, doing yoga X30. Research fair trade products and, where possible, gradually switch over31. Purchase more re-usable shopping bags and recycle the plastic ones in the kitchen X32. Buy tires for the Jeep X33. Buy shocks for the Jeep X34. Switch my registration to PA by September 30, 2008 X35. Switch my license to PA by September 30, 2008 X36. Open a savings account as an emergency fund and build it to at least $50037. Celebrate Earth Hour each year38. Blog at least once a week for three months straight (0/12)39. Write one entry in my journal a week for six months straight (0/24)40. Meditate on my beliefs and design a system of worship/praise41. Initiate myself into my faith42. Practice my beliefs actively43. Donate blood

The Me, Whimsically:44. Learn to ride a bike45. Using money I've budgeted, buy myself some great new clothes to wear when I'm not at work46. Play my flute at least once a month for six months (1/6)47. Buy/send myself flowers at least three times (1/3)48. Plan and spend a day at a spa, being pampered49. Read six fiction classics I've never read (o/6)50. Read five non-fiction books (0/5)51. Stock the bar and learn to make fun cocktails with coll52. Spend at least half an hour outside once per week for twelve months (0/48)53. Plan one birthday party for myselfX54. Try a vegetarian diet for a week55. Bake something entirely from scratch X56. Buy at least two cookbooks, one of them to be written by Nigella (0/2)57. Take myself on a date to dinner or a movie, and enjoy the time out alone58. Develop the cameras/film I have sitting around59. Put the pictures in the office into albums60. Share any good pictures with those interested61. Buy an MP3 player X

Friends & Family62. Plan a black-tie themed tea party for my girl friends63. Take Jim to a fancy restaurant to celebrate us X64. Travel to a different country with Jim65. Go to a makeup counter with Coll and get makeovers66. E-mail Ashley at least once per month every month for a year (0/12)67. Call a friend once a week to talk, every week for a year (6/52)68. Give ten gifts just because (2/10)69. Plan one surprise birthday party70. Go camping for a weekend or longer with Jim or other friends71. Do something competitive (pool, mini golf, bowling) with Jim 5 times (0/5)72. Have at least six girl dates/girls' nights with friends from home (3/6)73. Have a sleepover with Amy, Kely, and Melissa74. Have my family (or at least my parents) over for lunch/dinner 10 times (4/10)75. Have Plum family over for dinner76. Plan an awesome week-long vacation for me and Jim77. Watch fireworks with Jim X

Crafty, crafty78. Find or design a pattern for Melissa's wedding shawl X made shawl for Bridget, since wasn't invited to Melissa's wedding.79. Buy yarn, needles, etc. for shawl X80. Knit shawl in a timely manner X81. Buy needles and knit the sweater that's living in the bag on my floor82. Buy fabric and make curtains for the bedroom, front rooms, and library83. Knit a pair of socks in less than a month84. Knit at least six items for the charity/charities of my choice (0/6)85. Buy, trade for or find a spinning wheel X86. Learn to spin X87. Learn about plant dyes and try them on yarn/fleece88. Find a knitting group, join, and attend at least one meeting per month